I tried liking running lots of times. My senior year in high school I took a PE class that consisted almost entirely of running, every day. I was determined to find that happy, mystical place where the wall was broken, the 2nd wind came, the happiness flowed, and it never happened. I tried running in Belize on my mission with Sister Stone who swore she would train me for a marathon (it lasted one day, missionaries in the field are too tired to run, although, I wonder how many people have run on a street called Princess Drive along the Caribbean Sea - I have). I did run successfully in the MTC - round and round and round that track to the sound of elders playing basketball and volleyball, man smell rising. I ran hard in the MTC, like almost throwing up because, by golly, it was a stressful place and exercise was a sanctioned way to be in your own thoughts and not speak Spanish, just pound pound pound in my gray pants from shop-co that I still love.
I've tried running other times too; it being a highly effective way of exercise (being short on time and resources, it just seems like the perfect solution) but I just don't like it.
Until now! Diana, Emily, Nora and I (with Sarah and Isaac in the stroller) ran the stake's turkey trot last Saturday. We did the piddly one mile at a 7,6,and 4 year old pace, but it was dang fun, and I'll tell you why: I was so busy cheering on my girls I pretty much forgot I was running. We ran, I yelled, cheered, told them they were great, pushed Emily through the trauma or a paper cut from her number pinned to her shirt, we sprinted through the finish it was FUN!
I have found that life as a mom is a lot like this, if you let it be. Folding laundry, cleaning bathrooms, building a birthday present, hiking, weeding, or running; most anything is more fun and easier to have a great attitude if you are the teacher, cheerleader, example!
I still don't plan on running a lot (hurts the old knees), but it was a great time and I look forward to doing more hard things with my kids (I know it was only a mile, but that's more than any of us had run for along time)
Here they are at home with numbers on. What great kids.
3 comments:
I totally get you on the running thing. I had a compaion that wanted to do running for excercise too. It also lasted one day for us. I reminded her that we WALKED all over everywhere and that, that was more than enough excercise for me thankyouverymuch. She just didn't get it....oh well.
I do like walking though, that's nice and doesn't kill my poor old legs as much. Glad you and the peeps had fun though
That's a good observation on motherhood. I would enjoy running if it didn't trash my hip joints. David made his mission companions RUN from appointment to appointment, as well as work on P-days. When we go on missions together someday, we will not do that.
I like your outlook and I am going to apply it to my hum-drum life! (Actually my life isn't hum-drum at all - it is hectic and noisy)
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